Devaswom recruitment halted; hopes dashed for 1.5 lakh candidates, Recruitment Board files appeal

KOCHI: The Devaswom Recruitment Board has halted the recruitment process to all five Devaswom Boards in Kerala, dimming the hopes of around 1.5 lakh candidates. The move follows legal issues arising from a High Court Division Bench order that excluded appointments to the Guruvayur Devaswom Board from the purview of the Recruitment Board.

On January 9, a High Court Division Bench comprising Justice Sushruth Aravind Dharmadhikari and Justice V.M. Shyam Kumar ruled that Section 9 of the Kerala Devaswom Recruitment Board Act was unconstitutional in a case related to the Guruvayur Devaswom. Section 9 deals with the authority to make appointments. Acting on legal advice that the High Court verdict could apply to other Devaswoms as well, the Recruitment Board decided to suspend all ongoing recruitment procedures.

The Recruitment Board has filed a petition in the Supreme Court challenging the High Court verdict. The state government is also expected to file a petition. If a stay is granted, the recruitment process will continue. Temporary employees of the Guruvayur Devaswom had also approached the Supreme Court seeking appointments. The board had initiated recruitment following a direction to consider them. However, the validity of Section 9 has not yet been examined by the Supreme Court.

LD clerk recruitment among those affected
1. About 1.5 lakh candidates have applied through the Recruitment Board for various posts across the five Devaswom Boards. Except for posts with hereditary rights, all Devaswom appointments are made through the Recruitment Board, which was established in 2015.

2. In the previous year alone, the board issued notifications for 97 posts, of which 54 were in the Guruvayur Devaswom. Of these, recruitment for 38 posts has reached the interview stage after written examinations.

3. The recruitment process for LD Clerk posts in the Travancore Devaswom Board, which received over 20,000 applications, has also been halted.

• 145 – Posts for which the Recruitment Board has conducted appointments
• 2,958 – Candidates appointed so far

The Recruitment Board is facing a serious crisis, but is hopeful of a favourable verdict from the Supreme Court.
-Advocate K.B. Mohandas
Chairman of the Kerala Devaswom Recruitment Board.